


The Thirteenth Time

by canadiankazz



Series: Times Jasper Fed from Annabelle [13]
Category: Vampire: The Masquerade, Vampire: The Masquerade - L.A. By Night (Web Series)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood Drinking, F/F, F/M, Female on Male Violence, Forgiveness, Loss of Control, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-16 13:07:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18094871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canadiankazz/pseuds/canadiankazz
Summary: Annabelle's Beast frenzies during a feeding session. In the aftermath, she and Jasper seek help from a mortal friend.SPOILERS for the end of Campaign 1, the one-shots, and up to and including Episode 4 of Season 2. This fic is part of an AU series where Jasper has been feeding from Annabelle and they now have a Blood Bond and a slow burn romantic relationship. This was written before the author saw Episode 7 of Season 2. It’s obviously worth reading the rest of the "Feeds From" series before this part.





	The Thirteenth Time

**Author's Note:**

> In coming up with ideas for this fanfic series, the thought of what might happen if Annabelle frenzied _while_ Jasper was feeding from her was something I always had on the back burner. I decided for part thirteen (because unlucky 13) this would be what I would write. 
> 
> Special thanks to L and M for helping me with ideas, writing and editing. Enjoy the tasty, tasty angst.
> 
> As always, I lay no claim to owning any of the characters involved, and my eternal thanks to everyone who has read and enjoyed my fic.

Annabelle hummed to herself on her way to Jasper's haven, her bag slung over her shoulder. She was eager to get there. It had been a few nights since they were last together and she was anticipating a night of fun and sexy times ahead. Recently, Annabelle had managed to help Jasper learn Blush of Life. It had opened up a whole new range of possibilities for fun with him. It reminded Annabelle of her teenage dating days, both fending off and chasing horny young men and women. The final step in helping Jasper unlock a part of himself that he had thought long since dead had been achieved, and it had been like waking a sleeping dragon. Maybe it was the threat of danger looming over their heads from the Ivory Tower that made them pine for each other like long lost lovers. In any case, Annabelle cherished their times together and she knew he did as well.

For Jasper, it had indeed been an awakening, in more ways than one. Until now, he had always been more or less content to play into Nosferatu stereotypes. Well, he kind of had to. Most - not _all_ but _most_ \- people still balked at his appearance. He was a walking, talking potential Masquerade violation. He also still delighted in being able to creep others out with his ability to Obfuscate, and yes, he did live underground and often travelled through the sewers.

But, as their friend X had described, Annabelle was a tomato. She defied many Brujah stereotypes like how a tomato defied the stereotypes of its fellow fruit, and if Annabelle could be a rebel to her clan, so too could Jasper. There were stranger things out there than a Nosferatu who could still get himself laid if he wanted to.

Annabelle held the privilege of being allowed to let herself into Jasper's sanctum. She pulled open his hatch and made sure it was firmly shut behind her again. She made some noise on her way down to his inner haven, as a courtesy to announce her presence. Jasper didn't exactly have a doorbell. It wasn't all that long ago when Annabelle was sure she would get lost down in these tunnels without a guide. While she still didn't feel a hundred percent sure about them, she knew she could at least get from Jasper's front door, down to his rooms, and back again without issue.

Jasper had been studying when she arrived. They greeted each other with a hug.

“How have you been?” she asked.

“I've been laying low, keeping an eye out for Camarilla, and rats. You? Have you been keeping out of trouble?”

“I've been hanging out with Kyoko,” Annabelle smiled.

Jasper looked worried. “Uh-oh.”

Annabelle giggled.

“She hasn't taught you how to throw fireballs yet, has she?” he joked.

Annabelle gasped. “No, but you think she could? Can you imagine?”

“Yes, I can, and no, I don't think it's a good idea,” Jasper cringed. He had been burned by Tremere fire before and had no desire to repeat the experience.

“Yeah... that might be fair. So... do you have any plans for tonight?” she smiled at him, flirting.

He smiled at her wide enough to show fangs. “I do indeed. Are you hungry?”

“Well...” Annabelle hesitated. Usually, she fed before seeing Jasper, but she had neglected that on this occasion. She hadn't fed the night prior either, but she felt mostly okay. “Yeah, because, you know... I do a little always, but I'm good.”

Jasper gave her a calculated look, but he trusted her. “Shall we, then?”

“Yes, let's shall.”

He gestured with a long arm towards the bedroom. “After you.”

Annabelle strolled in, perhaps adding a little extra roll to her hips as she did so to tease Jasper. She left her bag by the door and removed her jacket.

Annabelle felt rather than heard Jasper move behind her. He shut the door and embraced her from behind, already nuzzling at her neck and shoulder.

“Someone's missed me,” she giggled.

Jasper snarled happily in reply. “I have so few joys left in life.”

“Oh, don't be dramatic,” Annabelle scolded.

“It's true! There's you, annoying Victor and Nelli and solving the labyrinth. That's about it.”

Annabelle laughed. “In that order?”

She was letting Jasper steer them towards the bed. He chuckled, deliberately trying to bait her. “Well, maybe... labyrinth, then you, then being annoying.”

The bating worked. Annabelle pushed back against him, resisting suddenly. “Wrong answer!”

“Well, it's just an opinion...” he teased.

“Still wrong!”

“I've known the labyrinth longer than I've known you. Technically, it came first.”

She twisted playfully out of his grasp and turned around to face him. “Yes, but does the labyrinth do this for you?” She slowly and deliberately stroked the front of his pants. There was no Blush of Life active at the moment, so there was no physical movement down there, but Jasper snarled. “And please don't say 'yes,'” Annabelle said.

“No,” he growled softly, “It doesn't. That's just you.”

“Ah, so does that change your priorities?”

“It does,” he growled again. “Get on the bed and Blush for me.”

Annabelle's eyes lit up. She liked it when he got like this. She felt a very familiar coil of desire spring in her abdomen. She backed onto the bed and activated her Blush of Life. Her Beast growled in warning inside her, but she ignored it.

Jasper followed, moving like a hungry, inhuman creature. He had been looking forward to this for a while now. He didn't undress her, nor did he activate his own Blush. He wanted to taste her first. They had hours still yet to play, after all. He loomed over her, his body long and lean above her. Annabelle's skin got warm as she gazed up at him. He settled himself over her hips, one knee on either side of her ribs.

Annabelle placed her hands on his knees and trailed them up his legs as he leaned down over her. She smiled. “Did you use to fool around like this, back in the day?”

For once, bringing up his past didn't seem like a total mood killer. Jasper was entirely focused on her body and the unique and intoxicating taste of her warm Vitae he would soon have. “Yeah, I had my moments,” he said vaguely. He stroked a long, cold finger along the right side of her neck and shoulder. He liked to build up her anticipation. Annabelle shivered.

“I think I may have a serious kink for this kind of thing,” she said softly.

“It's apparently fairly common,” Jasper smirked. He studied her skin and licked his teeth. “Would you like to indulge?”

“Oh, yes, go for it, please...” Annabelle tensed slightly, waiting for the sharp pain of the bite.

Jasper growled in hunger and placed his mouth to her skin. She felt his fangs against her as he opened his jaw, and then he sunk his teeth into her.

Annabelle gasped and sighed, melting as the pain passed and the ecstasy began. Jasper drank greedily, his eyes closed. Her warm blood flowed into him and down his throat. His Beast urged him on, as always. It loved the taste of her, her strength and desire. The fact she kept coming back to him, time and again, that she _wanted_ him to do this, was just the cherry on top.

Annabelle moaned gently, feeling her arousal rising. Her Beast clawed at her insides in alarm, but she fought to ignore it. _Later_ , she told herself, _later_ they would go out and she would feed. _Later._ She just had to wait a little bit. Right now, all she wanted was for Jasper to continue working his magic against her.

Everything was going so well.

And then Annabelle's Beast decided it had finally had enough.

It had given her plenty of warnings. She hadn’t listened.

Something inside Annabelle _snapped_.

Everything went red.

Jasper's only indications that something was wrong were a faint but angry hiss in his right ear, a sudden bitterness to her blood, and feeling all of Annabelle's muscles suddenly tense in rage instead of imminent orgasm. He wanted to move, but he was too slow. Annabelle's left fist came around and with a brief, raw moment of blinding speed and fiery anger, she punched him _hard_ in the side of the head. Jasper sprawled next to her, his fangs ripped out of her skin. Vitae started to ooze everywhere. It quickly stopped bleeding on its own as Annabelle's body, again acting on pure instinct, halted the flow, but not before her shirt and bra were stained red.

Jasper was seeing stars. She had hit him right in the cheekbone with all the Brujah strength and anger her body could muster in the circumstance. He could feel himself bruise. He'd have a black eye for sure. He groaned and snarled, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. Then he saw the look in Annabelle's eyes and he knew that her Beast had taken over. He wasn't dealing with Annabelle right now. He was dealing with a monster, and that monster was irate at him and him alone.

Annabelle hissed like an angry cat, wounded and cornered. Her fangs were wide and threatening. Jasper could feel his own Beast wanting to rise to the challenge and stamped down hard on that instinct.

“Annabelle?”

Her eyes blazed with untamed fury. Her enemy, her attacker, was _right there_. The Beast wanted to rip him apart to get her Vitae back, and then some.

She lunged for him and he dodged, leaping back up off the bed. “Annabelle!”

She pounced again, but he was ready. Like a matador, he pivoted at the last second and grabbed Annabelle by the scruff of her neck and the waistband of her jeans. He pinned her face-first to the wall. She growled and thrashed and he had to use all his strength, vampiric and otherwise, to hold her. Jasper risked getting his face in close to lick her wound closed and managed to dodge another fierce blow, though she scraped his ear. He winced.

“ _Annabelle_ ,” Jasper growled, hoping that perhaps showing her Beast that he was a superior opponent might help him get through, back to her humanity. “ _Calm. Down._ ”

Annabelle stilled, still growling softly. She blinked. Slowly, she came back to herself. He heard her whimper ever so quietly, “Jasper?”

Jasper relaxed his hold on her and let her turn around. He took a step back.

Annabelle couldn't clearly remember the last minute to so. All she recalled was a raw, primal anger, wanting to destroy something, and _hunger._ She could feel that hunger still. Her Beast wasn't just rattling the bars of its cage, it was making the whole jail quake. Her hands were shaking. She looked at Jasper's face. He had a massive red and black bruise on the side of his head, over his eye. He looked worried and in pain.

“Jasper what just happened?” she asked.

“I think you had a little Frenzy,” he said quietly.

Annabelle gasped and put her hands to her face.

Jasper was watching her closely, both for signs of further imminent attack, and also because he could feel Annabelle's instant regret and sadness over what she had done.

“Did I hit you?” she asked through her fingers over her mouth.

He nodded silently.

“Oh, my God! Oh, I'm so sorry!”

Her body quivered. Jasper was worried she might fall or collapse to the floor. Very gently, he reached to her and guided her back to the bed. They sat down and he put his arms around her.

“I'm so sorry, I'm _so_ , so sorry,” Annabelle said over and over.

“Annabelle, it's not your fault. It's mine.”

“What?” she looked up at him, her eyes red with tears. “But-”

“I took too much,” Jasper said, hating himself for it. It was the one thing he had been so careful of every other time they had done this. “I triggered some kind of Frenzy in you, made your Beast freak out and it acted in self defence.” He pulled away from her and sighed. He ran a hand over his head and winced at the bruise. She had gotten him good. It hurt to move his face. She probably broke a few bones in his cheek or eye socket.

“But you're always so careful...”

“I know,” he snarled.

“No, Jasper... I don't think it's your fault.”

“How can it not be?”

“I shouldn't have...” Annabelle sniffled. Tears were on their way. She had lost control again, had hurt someone whom she cared deeply about and now he was wrongly blaming himself for it. “I was too hungry to start with. I said I was okay, but I probably... I shouldn’t have...”

Jasper looked at her as she wiped away a tear. It left a red stain on her cheek.

“I didn't feed at all before I came here,” Annabelle said. Her voice shook. “I thought it would be okay because nothing bad had happened before, but...”

But something bad did happen this time.

Jasper sighed. He put an arm around her again and Annabelle leaned into him, starting to weep. His mind raced. If Annabelle had been hungry enough to attack him like that, then they were in trouble. He could get emotional later, maybe. Right now, this was a problem that needed to be fixed, but as carefully as possible and without anyone else getting hurt, or finding out something they shouldn't.

“It's okay. I think... we both fucked up a little bit. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that you're starving now,” he said softly.

Annabelle nodded, trying not to sob. Her Beast was roaring at her such like she had rarely heard it before. Her fangs itched. Her throat felt bone dry.

“Right. First things first, you need to feed. Now. If we wait, you might attack someone, and if you fall asleep like this... you might not wake up.”

Annabelle looked at him, afraid. “W-what do you mean?”

“That's another way a vampire can fall into torpor, through starvation.”

Annabelle whimpered.

“Don't worry. I'm going to help you,” Jasper assured. “You're going to be okay. We need to go somewhere you can feed though.” Jasper did his level best to keep his voice calm for her. He was treating this a little like a ticking time bomb. “Get your phone... see if you can make a last-minute date with someone.”

With shaking hands, Annabelle found her phone. She sniffled, trying to stop crying as she scrolled through her contacts. As she did so, Jasper noticed gouge marks in his wall where he had pinned her and she had clawed at it in her efforts to escape.

“Um... there's Lisa,” Annabelle said. “She'd be down for a last minute date.”

Jasper nodded. They had visited Lisa together a few times before. She ran a vampire themed bar and had a blood kink. She assumed that both Annabelle and himself were also into the same kink and they were just playing pretend vampires. It was a potential Masquerade risk, but it had worked out well so far. “Call her.”

Annabelle swallowed. “I can't...”

“Why not?”

“I don't want to kill her. Oh, _God_...” Annabelle had a mental image of herself over Lisa's dead body, her Beast quiet but her soul in pieces. She started to try again. “ _Please_ , Jasper, don't let me kill her!”

“You won't kill her,” he assured her. “I'll make sure you don't. I'll be right there with you.” He knew what fear Annabelle had. It would be so very easy for her to lose control. Hell, Nelli G, a Toreador normally so poised and composed, had recently lost control while feeding on one of Victor Temple's security guards. That had been a big mess for them to clean up.

Annabelle took a deep breath to try to calm down. She didn't have a lot of options available to her. They could ask for Victor's help, but that might mean explaining how and why she had lost control in the first place. No way she was going to put her partners at risk, and trying to grab anyone else at this time of night was going to be hard.

“Okay,” Annabelle sighed, reassured by Jasper. She pulled herself together and clicked on Lisa's contact number. She still felt wretched with guilt, but she could worry about that later. Her Beast was howling.

It didn't take Lisa long to answer her phone. Annabelle could hear the music of the goth bar in the background. “Hi! I knew you'd use this number eventually,” Lisa said.

“H-hi Lisa,” Annabelle said with a shake in her voice.

In the meantime, Jasper was trying to heal his face. He winced at the pain in his facial bones as they knitted themselves. He went until his Beast rumbled. He could tell it wasn't enough to heal it all. His flesh was still a little tender with a black eye.

Lisa had picked up on Annabelle's anxiety. “You okay, hun? Another bad night?”

In the background, Annabelle could hear Lisa's co-workers mocking her for using her phone while on shift at work, and Lisa's voice muffled telling them to shut up. It would have amused Annabelle in different circumstances. “Um, kind of? Are... are you busy?”

“Just closing,” Lisa said. “Should be free soon.”

Annabelle took a deep breath to try to steady herself. “I'd like to see you, if that's okay.”

“Sure! Where should I meet you?”

“Um...” Annabelle glanced briefly at Jasper. She felt another pang of guilt at the lingering bruise around his eye. “...Somewhere private?”

“My place?” Lisa offered.

Annabelle moved the phone away to speak to Jasper. “She's inviting us over to her place.”

“Good,” he said.

“Sure,” Annabelle told Lisa. “Can Jasper come too?”

“Of course!”

“Okay. It's going to take us a little while to get there, so we'll meet you there soon.”

“No problem, that gives me time to close. See you soon, hun.”

“Yeah, see you.” Annabelle hung up. She sighed, hugging her phone to her chest. She had let Blush of Life drop and she was cold again. “Lisa is expecting us at her place after she closes up the bar for the night.”

Jasper nodded. “Okay. We should get you cleaned up. You've got blood on you.”

Annabelle was well aware of that. She could smell and feel the stain. It made her uncomfortable with how tempting it was. “Good thing I brought a change of clothes,” she muttered. She got up and went to her bag to start to dig through it. Jasper found a clean cloth for Annabelle to wipe the blood tears off her face with. She changed her shirt and bra, and couldn’t help but sniff the soiled ones. Jasper gently took them away from her.

“I'll get these cleaned,” he said. He disappeared into another little room where he left them to soak in a container with laundry soap and water. When he came back, Annabelle had finished dressing and her jacket back on. She looked stressed, her eyes dark and hungry.

“Ready to go?” Jasper asked.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

He held out his hand to her and she took it. They headed up the tunnel to the streets above.

* * *

When they eventually reached Lisa's apartment door and knocked, Annabelle was in physical pain from the abuse her Beast was putting her though. They had passed a few sleeping homeless people on the way there and she made Jasper walk between her and them just to be safe. It was an awful feeling in every way. Jasper held her hand tightly the whole time. Lisa answered the door in a simple black tank top and jeans, looking very casual. She had known Annabelle’s call wasn't for a typical romantic date night.

“Hello, Lisa,” Jasper said.

Annabelle gave a tiny wave. “Hi.”

“Hey, come in, come in,” Lisa stood held the door open as they crossed the threshold. She noticed Annabelle's unhappy appearance and Jasper's black eye. It was obvious something bad had happened. “Sit down. You guys okay? You look a little freaked.”

Annabelle sat on the edge of the bed in Lisa's tiny two-room apartment. The bed was the largest piece of furniture in there, aside from bookshelves which were heavy with horror, fantasy and romantic literature. Jasper stood next to the bed, keeping close to Annabelle. He kept a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah, um...” Annabelle sighed, “just had a bad night and wanted to see you.”

“I'm glad to help,” Lisa said as she sat on the bed next to her and gave Annabelle a hug.

Annabelle hugged her back. Lisa felt so warm compared to her. It brought back painful memories of that first night fleeing that dark room Carver had put her in and coming home to Elleanore. She had thought about reactivating her Blush of Life before getting there, but she didn't have the Vitae to spare.

Annabelle’s Beast growled. It had tasted Lisa’s blood before. Annabelle thought she could hear Lisa’s pulse pumping in her neck. She pulled back sharply out of the hug.

“I'm really, really sorry,” Annabelle stammered. She didn't know how to bring up the real reason why there were there. “Um... but would it be okay if... I...?”

“You just want to do things and forget about it?” Lisa offered.

Annabelle's eyebrows rose in surprise at how close Lisa had come to the truth.

Lisa shook her head with a knowing little smile. “I've been there,” she shuffled back on the bed and gave them a sly, flirtatious look. “Come and get me.”

Without thinking, Annabelle leaned towards her. It was just pure, predatory instinct driven by her Beast's need to feed. She realised what she was doing and hesitated. Her Beast was hissing in her brain to bite, to drink, to drain every last drop, to slake her hunger. It terrified her. She looked back at Jasper with wide, pleading eyes, shaking her head a little. He felt her fear, and knew from their earlier conversation of what she was afraid of. If Lisa died tonight, Annabelle would never forgive herself.

Jasper kept his hand on her and sat down next to and slightly behind her on the bed. He was ready to grab Annabelle if he had to. “Go on,” he urged softly.

Annabelle looked back to Lisa, laying there passively, tantalising and vulnerable. “I don't want to hurt you,” she whispered.

“I trust you,” Lisa said.

Annabelle bit her lip. She looked at Lisa's neck, but didn't trust herself to go for it. It would be too easy to let the mortal bartender just bleed out. She took Lisa's hand instead, bringing her pale wrist up. Lisa's skin felt very warm. Annabelle held her gently, though Lisa flinched a little and frowned at the touch. Lisa glanced between Annabelle, with her icy hands, and Jasper, with his black eye. She didn't say anything, but Jasper could tell she was trying to guess what had happened to them that night.

“I'm sorry if this doesn't feel very good,” Annabelle muttered. She could feel Lisa's strong pulse. It was slightly elevated. Her Beast snarled and clawed painfully in her chest, begging, threatening, pleading with her to just _get on with it_ , already. She tried to hide the desperation in her voice as she asked for permission. “Can I taste you? Please?”

Lisa nodded. “Yes, if you like.” She looked curious and a little excited, thinking they were about to try something new and a little risky.

Annabelle sniffled back one last tear from falling. Lisa was so experienced, but so naive at the same time. As gently as she could, with every muscle in her body under tension, Annabelle bit into Lisa's wrist. She was careful, but she knew it would still hurt. Fresh, warm blood filled Annabelle's mouth and she very quickly lost herself in the taste. She swallowed and licked and swallowed again. She was distantly aware of Jasper's presence, of his hand on her shoulder. Lisa sighed as the pleasure took over from the pain.

Jasper was watching them like a hawk. He saw the expressions of bliss on both of their faces. Annabelle's Beast was getting what it wanted. Her grip on Lisa's hand and arm tightened. Jasper was counting quietly to himself, second by second. He had a rough idea of how long it took a thirsty vampire to kill someone of the average age and size Lisa was.

_...five-one-thousand, six-one-thousand, seven-one-thousand, eight-one-thousand..._

Lisa's eyes fluttered closed. Her body started to go limp.

“Annabelle,” Jasper said in warning. He pulled back a little on her shoulder. It was time to stop.

Annabelle was not stopping.

Jasper growled in another, stronger warning. His grip on her tightened.

Annabelle had been lost in the bliss of the blood. Her Beast protested. She was nowhere near full! This was nowhere near done! _NO_!  _It was too soon_!

With extreme reluctance, Annabelle pulled back. She gave Lisa's skin one last long lick and let her go. There was no visible blood or wound when Lisa pulled her hand back and looked at it. She stared in wonder at her wrist.

Annabelle sighed. She felt a little better. Her Beast was a little quieter, but nowhere near fully satisfied. It would do, for now. She found Jasper's hand and gave it a grateful little squeeze. Jasper's thumb found the home made bracelet he had given her not all that long ago. “Thank you,” Annabelle said softly, to the both of them.

“H-how are you feeling now?” Lisa asked. She sounded dizzy.

“I'm bett- um... I'm okay,” Annabelle answered hesitantly.

“Good. You guys really look like you've been put through the ringer tonight,” Lisa said slowly as she collected her thoughts through her blood-deprived brain. “I don't mean to pry, but... people don't usually come beating down my door to urgently engage in my fetishes in the middle of the night, at least not without some preamble.”

Annabelle gulped. Jasper stared at her. Both were worried about this line of questioning.

“I'm sorry,” Annabelle said softly.

“Is it... do you need a place to stay? Are you eating alright?” Lisa asked, worried. “I'm sorry. No judgement if that's what's going on. There's a lot of people sleeping rough near the bar and I know it can get dangerous.” She made eye contact with Jasper at this last statement.

Jasper went out on a mental limb and made an assumption about what Lisa thought had happened. She thought he and Annabelle were sleeping rough and had many gotten into a fight. Perhaps he had stepped in to protect her and gotten hit, or maybe, if Annabelle had told her about her partners, it had been one of them. Whatever it was Lisa thought, Jasper wasn't going to correct her on it, so long as she didn't guess they were real vampires. Then they would have to do something unpleasant.

“Oh, um... that, well... that's very kind of you, Lisa, but no, no that's not it,” Annabelle mumbled.

“Is it anything I can help you with?”

“You already have,” Annabelle assured her.

Lisa smiled. “That's good, but I'd really rather you two not end up in punch ups in the first place if you can help it.”

“Oh, that...” Annabelle gave an awkward chuckle and glanced at Jasper's face. “That was an accident.

Jasper nodded, agreeing with this story. “I'm alright,” he smirked. “I've had... far worse.”

“That sucks, but I'm glad you're relatively unscathed,” Lisa said with a small smile. “So...” she regarded Annabelle again. “What exactly was that you were doing there?” She motioned to the wrist Annabelle had been feeding from. “It hurt more than usual, but it looks fine!”

“Um...” Annabelle ran a nervous hand through her hair. “It's hard to explain...”

Jasper looked pensive. If Lisa asked the wrong questions, they were going to have to do something, and she was dangerously close. He licked his fangs.

“Was it like a skin pinch thing?” Lisa guessed. “I guess stuff really _is_ sensitive there. Seriously, you have to teach me some techniques sometimes, girl, because you have skills.”

Annabelle shook her head, upset that she was going to have to lie more than she had already to maintain the Masquerade.

Jasper didn't want to give Lisa the chance to ask any more questions. “We should go,” he told Annabelle.

“Okay, fine, keep your secrets,” Lisa said, disapproving. She gave them a little smile, one Annabelle had seen on her face several times before. “Just come back and see me for a bit longer, sometime.”

Annabelle bit her lip, thinking of the escalating conflict between the Anarchs and Ivory Tower. Her voice shook, just a little. “Um, sure... hopefully.”

Jasper stood and pulled Annabelle gently to her feet.

“Please, Lisa,” Annabelle begged, “please don't tell anyone about this.”

“Of course,” Lisa assured. “I never do. What happens in here is private.”

“So you _swear_?” Annabelle pressed.

“I swear. It's really important to you. I see that.”

Annabelle was relieved, but Jasper was not convinced. Annabelle pulled out her wallet to give Lisa some money. She felt guilty about inconveniencing her and taking her blood, even with permission. “I feel bad just... leaving like this,” Annabelle muttered. She dug through her wallet, looking for bills to give her.

“Don't. You don't pay here either, okay?” Lisa insisted.

Lisa then looked at Jasper with a glare that seemed almost maternal. She had seen the expression on his face. “Look, Jasper... I can tell you don't trust me, but I hope you can trust that I don't want to run afoul of whatever business it is leading you two to bruises and panic attacks. If that means not running my mouth, you can be sure that I won't.” Her glance moved to take in both of them. “Whatever it is, just be careful, okay? You two are too cute to get into trouble.”

Jasper chuckled dryly, trying not to snarl as he did so. “Trouble seems to find us no matter what we do, and I really hope that same trouble doesn't find you.” On top of not wanting an innocent person to die, Jasper knew that Annabelle would be very upset if anything happened to Lisa because of their involvement in their un-lives.

Annabelle put her wallet away and went back over to Lisa to hug her. “The streets aren't safe,” she said, her anxiety about the war with the Ivory Tower rising again. She dreaded what they would do to Lisa if they found her. “You don't think you might be able to leave town for a little while, could you?”

“You're serious?” Lisa asked. She studied both of their faces and saw no joking there. “I mean, I'm due for a holiday, but how long is a little while?”

Annabelle really wasn't sure. “A few weeks?”

Jasper was thinking about much much Lisa should know about the current situation. Of course, the answer was next to nothing. “The, uh, trouble that's after us might find out we know you, and you might become a target.”

Lisa saw how stern their expressions were and swallowed. “Okay. I'd been planning a trip soon, but I can move it up if I arrange things right. That puts me out of town for about a month.”

A degree of relief washed over Annabelle. “If you could arrange it, that would be good. We'd worry about you.”

“You're sweet,” Lisa touched Annabelle's cold cheek. “Annoyingly dangerous, but sweet.”

Annabelle tried to laugh, but it just sounded sad.

“I'm going to start getting organised as soon as you leave, don't worry,” Lisa assured her. “And... can you try to let me know when it's safe to come back?”

Jasper came back over to Annabelle and put his hand on her back again. He could feel her emotions welling up inside, and he was attempting to soothe her, but also encourage her to get up again so they could leave.

Annabelle nodded to Lisa. “I will. I promise.”

Lisa put her hands on either side of Annabelle's face and looked into her eyes. She gave her a reassuring smile. “Stay safe,” she told Annabelle. She looked at Jasper. “I trust you'll help with that.”

“I take protecting Annabelle very seriously,” Jasper said with sincere honesty.

“You stay safe too,” Annabelle told Lisa. She gave her a little kiss, then allowed Jasper to lead her out of the apartment. They shared one last goodbye wave with Lisa on the way out.

They didn't see anyone as they made it out onto the street and away from Lisa's building.

“What now?” Annabelle asked.

“Let's get home first, then we'll talk.”

“Are you mad?” Annabelle asked Jasper in a small voice.

“No, why would I be mad?”

Annabelle shrugged. “I hit you, and Lisa almost found out about us, and I can't read your mind so...”

“No, I'm not mad,” Jasper sighed. “But I don't want to talk about it out here. Let's get home.”

Annabelle nodded. Although she didn't say anything about it, she did notice that Jasper referred to his sanctum as 'home' and not 'my place' or anything singular like that. A home for the two of them, maybe.

* * *

It started to drizzle as they arrived back to the sanctum. It was cold underground. Annabelle suspected she'd be able to see her breath were she not dead. In the relative privacy of the tunnels, Jasper resumed their conversation.

“As I said earlier, so far as I'm concerned, Annabelle, you acted in self defence when you fought against me. Your Beast thought it was under attack, and, strictly speaking, it wasn't wrong. I know you're always hungry after our... dates.”

“Well... yeah,” she admitted. “I'm still sorry though.”

“And I forgive you.”

“I hope Lisa is going to be okay,” Annabelle sighed.

“I think she will be.”

Annabelle nodded. “Yeah, she's smart.”

Jasper grinned in sarcastic amusement. “Sure, I mean she only invites random vampiric strangers into her home to suck her blood. Nothing not smart about that.”

Annabelle glared at him, but didn't argue. “She saw how serious we were though.”

“She did,” Jasper relented. He could still feel Annabelle's anxiety. It was making him anxious too. He had to keep trying to reassure her, even if it ended up not being true. “She'll be okay.”

They arrived in Jasper's rooms and checked on her bloody clothes he had left to soak. Annabelle gave them some hand scrubbing to get the last of the stains out. After rinsing them and hanging them up, she changed into the black woolly labradoodle hoodie Jasper had given to her a long time ago. She loved this hoodie, and slept in it often when she stayed at his place. It seemed to bring her a lot of comfort. Jasper thought it suited her a lot better than it ever did him.

Annabelle put gentle acoustic music on and sat on the bed. She tried not to look at the marks she had left on the wall in her Frenzy, but her eye was still drawn to them.

“Tomorrow, I think it would be a good idea for you to feed again,” Jasper suggested. He sat down beside her.

She chuckled, her voice day with sarcasm. “Yeah, you think?”

“I'll take you to Victor's the back way,” Jasper laid a hand on her back, stroking her shoulder blades gently. “You can feed there and hang out with Kyoko for a little while.”

Annabelle leaned back into his touch. He increased the pressure a little and it became a light massage. “Can I come back here after?”

“Yes, you can. I want to put in a new rule though - only offer your blood to me if you are _sure_ that it won't make you too hungry after.”

Annabelle nodded. That had been her fault. “I was just so eager to... you know.”

Jasper smirked, flattered. “Well... that doesn’t mean we can lapse on safety,” he said. He rubbed her back a little more, then relaxed back onto the mattress. “We can pick up tomorrow night where we left off though... if you want.”

She looked at him with a hopeful little smile. “Yeah?”

He smiled with fangs, knowing what it would make her feel. “Yeah.”

Annabelle curled up next to him.”I'd like that.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jasper said. He put a long arm around her, snugly. “I had ideas I wanted to use.”

“Oh, yeah?” Annabelle was happy to be distracted by this kind of teasing talk. Jasper wasn't flirty very often, but it was effective when he was. “Such as...?”

“There are certain things I want to test,” he said, being deliberately coy.

She poked him, playing with a buckle on his hoodie. “ _Such as?_ ” she repeated.

"Your endurance... my endurance...” he smiled a little. “I have a lot of cobwebs to still shake off, as it were.”

She smiled and stroked his chest. “We'll get there. I have every confidence in you.”

“Thanks.”

“I have some ideas myself.”

“Oh, yeah?” he said, deliberately echoing her.

“Yeah... You've explored my body plenty. I've only just gotten to see yours.”

Jasper gave a tiny shrug. “Yeah, well...”

“No, I get why, and I love that you trust me with, you know… seeing you naked.” The words 'I love you,' were there in Annabelle's throat, on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed them down.

Through the Blood Bond, he still felt them.

“Well, maybe I trust you slightly less now,” he joked, touching his bruise.

Annabelle scrunched up her face in an annoyed frown. “I'm going to earn back your trust. I'm gonna do something real nice for you.”

“Like what?”

“You'll see.”

He smirked. “I guess I will.”

“How about… you meet me at my place and we’ll shower together,” Annabelle suggested.

Jasper remembered the last time he had tried to shower at Annabelle’s. It had not ended well for him. He started to say something but Annabelle stopped him.

“We will be home alone. Complete privacy. I _promise_ ,” she said with emphasis. She was worried that he wouldn't trust her on this, not after what had happened this night, even though he had forgiven her.

“Alright,” he said softly. Jasper stroked her back some more.

“It will be fun. I promise,” she assured again.

“Okay,” Jasper gave her a little smile. “I’m looking forward to it.”

By the time the acoustic music was finished, dawn had arrived and both Kindred were asleep. They lay still, dead and peaceful, safe in each other's arms.


End file.
